Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)It seems to me that some less that perfect early firmware has given this otherwise phenomenal HU a somewhat bad rap. Kenwood probably should have done more QA before release, but show me a software vendor that doesn't have the same problem. I've been running this guy for a week now and couldn't be happier, so I feel the need to do my part to increase its review standings! I had a lengthy list of mandatory criteria, and this was the _only_ HU on the market that satisfied all of them. Specifically:
- Rear mounted iPod an aux cables for clean installation. Contrary to what other reviewers have said, I think this is a huge win (especially vs. the Pioneer decks). Who wants a mess of spaghetti in front of their stereo? It took an extra hour to disassemble the center console and route the cables properly, but it was the "right way" to do it.
- Variable color display/buttons. This one really narrowed the field, and I'm surprised how many decks can't do this. I was replacing the factory stereo in a BMW, and for those who haven't been in one at night, _every_ lighted gauge, button, display, etc. is all the very same orangish-red color. A bright blue stereo would have looked hideous (*cough* Alpine).
- Integrated BT. As others have stated, this HU can't do streaming audio via BT, which is probably the only real con I'd cite. That said, my primary desire for BT was hands free, and it works great. Just in case Kenwood is reading though, I do think it would be super cool if they could pull the profile photos for my contacts and display them the same way they do album art from the iPod....
- Seamless iPod integration, including video. Check. Works great on both of my current and previous gen nanos. As another reviewer stated, you have to wait for the album art to skip to the next song, but there are several display modes available, some of which don't load the artwork and aren't affected if that's really a big deal to someone.
- Flexible, intuitive interface. The configuration options are very robust, and I found myself on several occasions thinking "geez, I wish I could do X", only to discover shortly thereafter that I could do X, Y and Z.
- Firmware updateable. With a deck this complex, this is mandatory in my opinion. No one is going to get it right on version 1.0, even with extensive in-house QA. I'm a software engineer by trade, and know from first hand experience how adept consumers at coaxing bugs out into the light. I used mine a few days before updating it and had some of the problems others have cited (mic drops, random source shifts, etc.), but absolutely no problems since updating it. It has the capability for a reason, so update the unit first thing!
- Good aesthetics and build quality. This is certainly subjective, but I'm appalled by how ugly some aftermarket decks are and how flimsy some of their control mechanisms are! Simple, clean lines and sturdy please.
- Good sound quality. I didn't do extensive comparison testing, but have been happy with previous Kenwood's I've owned this unit certainly outperforms the stock HU.
That's it! Love it!
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Kenwood Kiv-Bt900 Am/Fm/USB Receiver With Bluetooth(R)
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